Peace on earth
by shadowwriter01
Summary: It is December the 24th in the year 2012. The war is finally over and for the Autobots on earth a new time is beginning. Sort of a Christmas story.
1. Chapter 1: Optimus Prime

TDisclaimer: The Transformers belong to hasbro. I own nothing besides the idea for this fic.

This fanfic, that was originally only meant to be called "peace", is to a great part an idea of a Christmas story.

It is however also a story that plays after Time Circle and Transwarp and before Evolution. I will be careful not to reveal too much of what will happen in the other stories.

This fanfic will consist of short chapters that will be mostly written from the view of one or two special characters. The first is Optimus Prime.

This text includes some references to religion as a whole, but not a certain faith. (aside the fictional cybertronian one.)

* * *

><p><strong>Peace on earth<strong>

_December the 24th of the year 2012 on the planet earth_

Optimus Prime was driving on a snowy high way through the mountains of the American west coast and watching the dawning sun.

He felt relaxed, like this, driving over the roads like this, not having to worry, nearly as if he were a young bot again, he felt happy.

This was it, he thought, the year in that the war ended.

For nine million years his race had known nothing but nearly endless fighting.

It all began with the uprising of the Decepticons, the ending of the golden age. Their world their people were torn apart, the two sub races of Cybertron were turned against each other, civil war.

At first it were only them, but over time, other enemies arose and became involved, like the Quintessons and Unicron, the name that alone caused fear and terror in the entire known universe, threats that in the end by far overshadowed the Decepticons.

In the last years, the fighting escalated. It were not longer the Autobots against the Decepticons, but the Autobots and the humans against the Decepticons, against the Quintessons, against the nebulons and against Unicron.

Countless lives had been lost, more than even he could ever count, entire worlds had been destroyed.

And then something happened, slowly and unwittingly, the Decepticons stopped being enemies and became something else.

Yes, in the end, they had to work together. In the last battle of the great war, the truly last battle, they and the Decepticons had been allies.

They could barely stop the terror that threatened everything, but in the end, they did it. All they could do now was to do everything to keep something like this from ever happening again.

That was now over six months ago, six months ago that they had risked and sacrificed everything to save the universe. The last fightings however stopped merely weeks ago.

In the end, they and their enemies, their brothers had to work together to save the universe, like they should have been all along.

Yes, Optimus had to admit, it was that a part of him had secretly wished all along, to make peace with the Decepticons, even if he had always been forced to fight, to reach out his hand and become one once again.

But he had to admit. Even he had never thought that his wish would be fulfilled so literally, that the great war would end with him and Galvatron shaking hands.

He never wanted to fight, he was always forced to, for the life and the freedom of others.

Whenever in the past he had been forced to take a weapon, whenever he had been forced to go into battle, it was for the time when he could finally stop fighting, it was for this day.

A part of him could barely believe that it was actually reality, after nine million endless years, after 110.000 vorn,

it was finally over.

It was his greatest wish that became reality. The one thing that he truly regretted was that so many of his friend were not longer alive to see this day, Elita One, she more than anybody else, Ironhide, Prowl and Wheeljack, Ratchet, Alpha Trion, Grim-Side and so many others.

On some level he knew at least the Autobots under them were one with the Matrix, with Primus and he knew they would share his joy about this new time. But he still missed them.

The humans called this time of the year Christmas, a celebration and symbol of hope, light and peace, for the victory of love and compassion over hatred and violence.

It was a idea, he had to admitt, that intrigued him, since they time they first came to this world. On Cybertron they didn´t have a true parallel to this event.

The human religions as a whole were a concept that was very fascination to him and many others of his kind.

Their own god Primus, as they knew now, was actually an ancient being, made of pure energy, that had created Cybertron and it´s original inhabitants to protect the creation against Unicron.

He was in some sense a higher being, sure, but still not the highest, not the creator of the universe, not the answer to all questions.

In many things he was only another life-form like he himself was one.

By many ways this made the god, or gods of the humans much realer. Even if they didn´t have concrete proof for his existence, at least he may be all this things.

As strange as they thought was, he had already heard some Autobots discussing the possibility to convert to human religions.

Why not? He thought. It was their right after all. They were free, now finally.

He remembered how he had first heard about Christmas and what it stood for. That was now 28 years ago.

Back then Spike and Sparkplug had explained to them what the Holliday meant. Later on the same day, he and his Autobots joined a group of humans in a wish for peace.

Peace, the most humans couldn´t imagine what that word meant for an Autobot. So, consequently and ironically, the Holliday took entrance in some sort in the Autobot culture.

On that evening, Optimus made a silent wish to the universe, to whatever and whoever may hear him out there. He wished for only one thing, an end of the war and the chance for his people to live in peace.

Since that day, every Christmas, he repeated his wish. It was some sort of personal tradition he had made for himself.

And now his wish had been fulfilled.

xx

Now he was using his time to take a long drive over the roads of this planet. He was having his free time, driving around for fun and seeing the beauty of the landscape. In some sense it was for him as if he was seeing the planet for the first time.

Now that the weight of the universe was literally lifted from his shoulders and he didn´t have to worry about a Decepticon or Quintesson attack at every minute.

Now that his absence didn´t put lives at risk, he had finally the chance to do this. For many hours he had been driving over the high ways of Oregon and California.

He understood why Rodimus loved this so much.

Optimus saw some cars standing in a crowd before him.

A transporter, it seemed, had come off the roadway and was now lying at the side, hampering the traffic.

Some of the humans who were standing outside turned around to him, others were coming out of their cars.

He realized that they all knew who he was. His alt-mode, that he had first taken after their crash landing on earth, was an anachronism, a truck from 1984 in the year 2012.

It was no wonder they all recognized him, his appearance was by now probably unique on this world.

But it didn´t matter, he liked his alt-mode and being recognized could hardly hurt anymore, now that the war was over.

"Thank´s for your help Optimus", the driver said to him after he had lifted his vehicle back on the road.

"Don´t mention it. I always like to help a fellow truck driver", Optimus replied happily.

Most of the humans laughed, realizing the irony of the statement.

"Okay", the driver said, smiling, "I will continue now, bye. Merry Christmas."

"Yes, merry Christmas", Optimus murmured as the transporter drove away.

"Optimus", he heard Rodimus calling him over his communicator, "how are you doing? We are waiting for you."

"I am on my way", he replied.

Optimus transformed and drove over the, now free, road. He would soon be back in Autobot city.

So that was it, he thought, peace, that what they had always wanted and wished for.

Merry Christmas, he repeated the words the truck driver had said to him.

Merry Christmas Autobots and Decepticons, he thought,

merry Christmas human race,

merry Christmas to all the beings in the universe, no matter who and what you were.

Optimus Prime was happy.


	2. Chapter 2: Rodimus u Spike

**Chapter 2**

Spike was looking at the large Christmas tree that was standing in the middle of the hall.

He knew in some part of his mind, the part that came still from his childhood and early youth, that he should find the view somewhat strange. But in fact, he didn´t saw that.

What he saw was just a Christmas party. The point however was that more than half the people present were aliens.

And that was something that by now was completely normal for Spike.

Since he was 14 years old, since the day he had met the Autobots, he had more or less constantly been in contact with aliens.

He thought back on his crazy life. At first it had been just the Autobots who had crash-landed on earth. In the later years he became the ambassador of earth, particular because of the experience he had made with the Autobots and had from then on do deal with contacts to dozens of alien species on a daily basis.

And now, he was not even a normal human anymore. Like many others, he had gone through the process called binary bonding and became a headmaster.

He didn´t do it because he wanted, he never dreamt of the idea to fuse himself with a Transformer, even if the Autobots were some of his oldest friends. No, he had always wanted to stay human. He did it because he had to, to save his world.

Right now, he was nearly back to his old self. He was spending time with his family. Carly and Daniel were also here. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he could always feel the presence of Fortress Maximus.

He and the Autobot, who was currently in another part of the building, were connected on a sub-conscious level.

As he looked now at the Christmas party in Autobot city, it didn´t feel the slightest bit strange to him,

a large Christmas tree that was standing in the middle of an over-dimensioned hall, the Transformers robots, standing site by site with human guards and nebulon warriors, the few other alien species in between.

No, all this was completely normal by his standards now.

What seemed actually far more strange to him was the fact that the Autobot-Decepticon war was over and even more the way it did end.

There was no great battle, not against the Decepticons at least. In the end, Galvatron and his followers decided to just stop the fighting and leave this sector of space. Of all possible outcomes, this was possible the last he had expected.

As he was 14, he had also seen the Decepticons as the representation of evil, something else he had grown out a long time ago, at least after he had met Unicron and the Quintessons.

Yes, he thought, they had all come a long way. He was looking over at a group of Autobots, standing at the other end of the room. They all were old friends of him by now.

"Have you seen Optimus?" Spike heard Ultra Magnus asking. "He wanted to be already here right now."

"I have just called him. He said he will be here soon, but something came in between."

"I understand", Magnus said, knowingly and smiled. He had known Optimus longer than anybody else, even back then when he was still Orion Pax, he knew perfectly well that he was off to a joyride.

"it seems our leader is enjoying peace time", Rodimus replied.

"And it´s time for us to do the same thing", Ultra Magnus told him.

"Yes, time to enjoy the peace", Rodimus said weakly.

The peace, he thought. They had always fought for it, some of them for millions of years. The most Autobots who were alive today, like himself, had been created during the war.

Now they had it, suddenly, unexpected. The Autobots had finally the chance to live like they wanted to.

But what had they lost?

He remembered what had happened a half year ago, when they had been forced to open the plasma energy chamber.

They had no other choice. It had been the only way to safe Cybertron.

Their home-planet had been restored to what it once was and at the same time it became lost to them.

The ancient device had brought back Cybertron´s energy resources and gave the planet new life.

But like they had feared, the overload of the chamber caused an energy radiation from a dangerous level, that made it impossible for the current Transformers to survive there for long.

It was sad irony. Cybertron was at the beginning of a new golden age and they were not a part of it.

Perceptor and the other scientists had already started to develop a new kind of Transformers, one that would be able to survive at the new Cybertron.

Their home-planet would live on, but without them. It would not be the Autobots living on it.

For them the future was here on earth and on whatever other planets they would be colonize.

They would continue their old partnership with the humans. Earth had been a second home for many of them, for many years. Now it was their only home.

Their life´s would go on.

He saw a, only all too well known truck enter the base. Optimus had returned.

"I see you are back", Rodimus greeted him. "I guess you it has taken you a bit longer."

"I had something to do", Optimus replied. "But as you see, I have made it in time."

Under his face mask he was smiling.


	3. Chapter 3: Thunderwing u Galvatron

**Chapter 3**

_Earth, the 30__th__ September of 2012_

It was what was going to be the last battle of the great war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, a battle in a war that was already thought to be over.

The faction of the Decepticons had broken into two halves, with most of them having decided to leave this part of the universe.

But some didn´t want to accept the end of the war and tried to continue the fighting on their own. Despite the fact that with their decimated numbers they did not even have a realistic chance to win anymore in the long run.

Instead of hope for a victory it was pure desperation driving them now.

Five months after the most of their kind had left, the fanatical Warlord Thunderwing, a former sectorial commander who had declared himself supreme leader of the remaining Decepticons, started an major attack on the planet earth.

In a surprise attack they were able to occupy several areas around the globe and so take entire cities hostage.

It was a chaotic and bloody ending for the long and devastating war.

The largest of the fighting-grounds was in Los Angeles at the American west coast.

Here Optimus and Rodimus Prime were facing up with Thunderwing himself and a group of his followers.

In another part of the town the Autobot combiner Defensor was locked in a fight with Abominus. The two gestalts were leveling entire building as they struggled with each other.

At least at a half dozen other places similar scenes were playing out.

This was the day the great war had been coming to an end.

xxxxxxx

_The 24__th__ December of 2012_

His time had come.

They had said the war was over.

But the greatest, the highest truth of his way was one thing,

that the war was never over.

Today was the time he would face the enemy, one last time.

"You are crazy" he heard a voice telling him.

As he turned around he saw Skullgrin and Bomburst standing behind him. Both of them were pretenders like himself. Their robot selves were clad into bizarre looking exo-suits that gave them the appearance of being something else than cybertronian.

Skullgrin looked like a Transformer sized minotaurus and Bomburst like a mixture between a bat and a human.

Originally this "Pretender-Shells", like they were called had been developed from a variation of battle-armor that his master had invented.

In the last months the suits also had another purpose. To hide, at least at the first look, the fact that they were Decepticons.

They had by then actually started a number of raids disguised inside their shells where they had not been recognized and that were attributed to `unknown alien assailants´.

Of course it didn´t took long for the Autobots to find out who they were. But it did buy them some time.

"What you are planning is senseless", Skullgrin told him.

"You will be killed", Bomburst said, "and reach nothing", he added.

"I don´t expect you two to understand why I have to do this", he replied.

He was Bludgeon, greatest living master of metalikato, the ancient cybertronian art of fighting, former right hand of his now deceased master Thunderwing.

"If you are that insane, okay", Bomburst exclaimed. "We are following Galvatron and the others."

"Do that", Bludgeon answered casually. "If that is your decision. I will stay and finish what we have started."

xxx

_He remembered the last conversation his fallen lord had with Galvatron, the leader who had deserted them._

"_How can you just give up?" the Warlord asked him angrily._

"_I tell you the last time Thunderwing, this war is over. In fact it has lost it´s sense years ago."_

"_In the last ten years we conquered Cybertron twice", Cyclonus reminded him, "and lost it as many."_

"_And that not against the Autobots", Galvatron said, "it was through outside influences, because of __**him**__."_

"_Unicron had been defeated", Thunderwing claimed._

"_And Cybertron lost to us forever. Even if we continued the war, what would we truly reach with it? _

_Out there are many planets for us, unpopulated ones with resources ripe for the taking that we can colonize, unstable societies and worlds threatened by interstellar threats or militant neighbors that would actually welcome us with open arms just in exchange for protection._

_So why should we stay here and fight with the Autobots over nothing."_

"_With other words, there is no fight left in you. You sound like an Autobot."_

"_How do you dare?" Cyclonus asked angrily._

"_Stand down Cyclonus", the Decepticon leader told him. "And you Thunderwing are lucky that I don´t kill you for this insolence."_

"_There was a time Galvatron when you knew that we Decepticons can only truly win when the Autobots are completely destroyed. We have to fight till the last man."_

"_I think you mistake me for somebody else Thunderwing. I am not the out of control gone madman I have been turned into after Unicron´s first defeat."_

"_Well, then it is maybe a great loss that you are not longer him."_

"_As I see it you are doing your best to follow his footsteps", Galvatron said with open sarcasm._

"_I will continue the fight and everybody who is thinking like me will from now on follow my leadership", Thunderwing declared._

"_If you say so", Galvatron replied. "Whoever is willing to follow you would be useless for my new plans anyway."_

_Bludgeon remembered that there was a smile on his face._

xxx

That was months ago.

Now Bludgeon was standing in front of Autobot headquarters on earth, alone.

"Optimus Prime, come out", he shouted his lonely challenge.


	4. Chapter 4: The Decepticon

**Chapter 4**

_Autobot base earth_

The entire evening had the Autobots and humans been spending celebrating what was Christmas on earth and for the Autobots the beginning of their first year in peace.

They all were caught in shock and total surprise as they were confronted with the single Decepticon standing in front of the base.

The security sensors had detected the lone intruder as soon as he had set a foot on the area.

"Prime, I think you should see this", Kup called to the Autobot leader.

"Well, I don´t believe it", Spike said as he realized who exactly was standing outside.

"Optimus I think he wants to talk to you", Rodimus claimed with a portion of sarcasm as the Decepticon was still shouting the older Prime´s name.

The crowd of Autobots and a few of the humans were starting to walk out in the open. Beside Spike and his family it were Chip Chase, Marissa Fairborn and her parents, Tracks old friend Raul and a number of high ranked guests present.

"Bludgeon", Optimus greeted him as he had arrived outside, "What do you want?"

"Only one thing Prime. You and me, to the death."

Bludgeon´s Pretender Shell was resembling a human samurai with the face of a skull. It was designed for the purpose of both, mark him as a warrior and intimidate the enemy.

"The war is over", Optimus stated simply. He wasn´t quite sure if this Decepticon even realized this fact.

"It is not over. The war will not end as long as a drop of energon flows inside me."

"Do you think so? Even your leader Galvatron has finally seen that it has not point to continue. He had ordered you all to leave this part of the universe."

"Galvatron is not longer my leader. He has abandoned us."

"Us?" he asked. "Like I see it, you are alone."

In that moment Bludgeon struck, partly out of calculation, partly out of anger.

He tried to slice Optimus with his sword. The blade was not only made from a extremely hard metal and sharpened to a nano-metric level, it was also electrified and would deal out charged on anything that it hit.

But he was not fast enough.

Optimus had already anticipated this action, in fact he said the last things partly to goat him into a reaction.

He caught his arm in the move and twisted it to make the Decepticon loose his weapon.

Suddenly the Pretender Shell broke apart and revealed the robot inside.

He jumped into a save distance and transformed into his tank mode to attack once again.

The Pretender´s outer suit was, thanks to a mind link with it´s owner, able to operate by itself, so in a sense the Autobot leader was now facing two opponents at once.

As good as Bludgeon was, Optimus was better.

He had knowledge in every cybertronian form of combat and was a master in many of them. To that came dozens of fighting styles from other planets he had learned about.

Optimus Prime slammed the Shell into the ground and with the other hand shot the tank before he could fire his own weapon.

Through the damage to his circuits Bludgeon was forced to transform back.

The Decepticon was now lying on the ground with the Autobot leader standing above him.

It was over.

It wasn´t any different as Bludgeon had expected.

"Do it", he said.

He stared at the Autobot warrior before him, waited, hoped for it to happen.

"What are you waiting for, kill me."

"No", Optimus answered and lowered his weapon.

He however doesn´t let his guard down. For that he all too good remembered the lesson he had learned with Megatron seven years ago.

In the moment he had heart the Autobot´s words he struggled, tried to stand up, but before he could do anything he had once again Optimus gun pointed to him.

"Just do it", he replied.

"That is it what you wanted all along, right? That is the only reason you even came here."

"It is better to die fighting than to live with the shame of be defeated and becoming meaningless.

"Shame? The only shame I see is something completely else.

Everybody is glad that the war is finally over and that they have survived, only you, you come here with the clear intention to get yourself killed.

They are happy that they have finally the chance to live in peace. In fact everybody is celebrating, human and cybertronian alike."

"You only oversee one thing Prime. I have no interest in peace, I live for battle."

"Not by what I have seen. As it looks you have already given up", Rodimus said from the side-lines.

This words only enraged the Decepticon again and he tried another attack. But he saw that a half dozen Autobots had their guns pointed at him.

"He is right", Spike spoke up. "You come here with the aim to get killed. That is not battle that is suicide."

Bludgeon was burning from anger. Deep inside he knew it was the truth, but hearing this from a human did hurt.

"Do you know what the humans are celebrating on this day? The idea that life can win over death.

Look at yourself. You are one of the best warriors our race has, so wait for other battles to fight. Teach what you know to others.

There is no reason for you to die too. Only if you just want to throw your live away. I have enough of senseless killing", Optimus told him.

"I…", Bludgeon didn´t know what to reply anymore. "I don´t know what to do", he admitted.

"The other Decepticons had decided to find other worlds that are under threat, to be protectors instead of invaders. You could follow them."

The truth was Optimus knew all too well that this protection was only another form of conquest, with more peaceful methods.

But if somebody actually wanted to follow the Decepticons who gave him the right to stop them? Freedom was the right of all sentient beings.

Especially when he could not defend everybody in the universe himself, when the alternative to Galvatron´s help was for this worlds to perish.

"You could also settle on a colony somewhere, your knowledge of the martial arts would make you a valuable member for them."

"Yes, I think I could do that", the defeated robot said, defeated in more than one sense.

"Live in peace however you want to, but live. I will not kill you."

"You are right", the Decepticon, to everybody´s surprise, admitted.

xxx

"Well, that wasn´t quite what I had expected for our party", Rodimus pointed out a short time later.

"No, that a single Decepticon would made an appearance like that was something nobody would have imagined. But you have to admit Bludgeon was right in one thing."

"And what?" Rodimus asked.

"Today was the last day of the war."

End


End file.
